Indian AI Startup Sarvam Launches Indus Chat App Powered by 105B Parameter LLM

21.02.2026

Sarvam, an Indian AI startup specializing in language models optimized for local languages and regional users, has officially launched its Indus chat application for web and mobile platforms. This strategic move positions the company to compete in a rapidly expanding market currently dominated by global AI leaders such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google.

The launch is particularly significant as India has emerged as a critical market for generative AI adoption. Recent data indicates that ChatGPT has surpassed 100 million weekly active users in India, while Anthropic reports that India accounts for 5.8% of total Claude usage, ranking second only to the United States.

The Indus application serves as the primary chat interface for Sarvam's newly announced Sarvam 105B model, a large language model featuring 105 billion parameters. The app deployment follows the Bengaluru-based company's unveiling of both its 105B and 30B models at the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi earlier this week.

At the summit, Sarvam announced several strategic initiatives including:

• Enterprise solutions and hardware deployment strategies
• Partnership with HMD to integrate AI capabilities into Nokia feature phones
• Collaboration with Bosch for AI-enabled automotive applications

The Indus app is currently available in beta across multiple platforms including iOS, Android, and web browsers. The application supports both text and voice input, with responses delivered in text and audio formats. User authentication is facilitated through phone numbers, Google accounts, or Apple ID, though service availability appears geographically restricted to India at present.

Current Technical Limitations:

• Chat history cannot be deleted without full account deletion
• The reasoning feature cannot be disabled, potentially impacting response latency
• Access may be throttled due to compute capacity constraints during gradual rollout

Sarvam co-founder Pratyush Kumar acknowledged these limitations, stating that the company is implementing a phased rollout due to limited compute capacity, with users potentially encountering waitlists during initial access. The team is actively soliciting user feedback to inform product iteration.

Founded in 2023, Sarvam has secured $41 million in funding from prominent investors including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Peak XV Partners, and Khosla Ventures. The company represents part of an emerging cohort of Indian startups developing domestic alternatives to global AI platforms, supporting India's strategic objective of establishing greater sovereignty over its AI infrastructure.

Sources:
Sarvam AI Official Website
Indus App on iOS
Indus App on Android
Indus Web Platform